He was arraigned Monday before East Greenville District Justice Catherine M. Hummell and released on his own recognizance. A preliminary hearing has been set for Tuesday, the attorney general's office said.

Marlborough Township solicitor Marc Jonas said the municipality, which has been worried about the environmental hazards that could be caused by a fire at the site off Geryville Pike, supported the move but didn't say much else.

"This is the state's show," Jonas said.

So far, the township's attempts to force Coakley to clear the site, including a $1,000-a-day fine and a lawsuit filed jointly by the township and the state Department of Environmental Protection in May, have not produced the desired result.

Last August, the 51-year-old Coakley, who could not be reached for comment, was first cited by the township for not maintaining a fire access to the 27-acre property; not providing drainage; storing flammable materials, including an estimated 1 million tires, on the site; and creating a nuisance or menace to public health.

In November, the DEP ordered Coakley to remove the tires. In March, the township's concerns about the property were heightened by Philadelphia's Interstate 95 tire fire. Two months later, the township/DEP suit was filed because Coakley ignored the earlier DEP order.

Attorney General's office spokesman Kevin Harley said charges against the owners of the property, Edward and Maria DeLoach, aren't currently being considered, but he didn't rule them out.

Marlborough Township officials have said the DeLoaches are partially responsible for the problem. Edward DeLoach said yesterday that the tire dump was not the DeLoaches' fault and that he evicted Coakley two months ago.

Harley said he had no information yesterday on whether similar charges might be pending against Daniel Carr for a tire dump in Richland Township.

However, Harley said, the attorney general's office prosecuted Carr in May for a probation violation relating to a 1995 case in which Carr forged a state tire recycling permit.

Carr violated probation by getting charged for allegedly dumping tires at the site where the Philadelphia fire erupted. That fired damaged the highway, which is still being repaired.